National Air Traffic Services (NATS) has launched an investigation into a recent technical failure that saw more than 2,000 flights cancelled and 330,000 passengers impacted across UK airports.
The glitch, which was first reported by NATS on the afternoon of 8 September, effectively meant that air traffic control had to switch to manual operations, limiting the volume of aircraft allowed into UK airspace.
An update an hour later confirmed the breakdown had been traced to its flight processing system at the Swanwick Centre in Hampshire. While a fix in the form of a software patch was implemented, the issue was not fully resolved until that evening. In the space of less than five hours, the domino effect of so many flights being unable to take off led to travel chaos across 15 major airports.
Across Tuesday and Wednesday, more than 2,000 flights were cancelled — the majority to and from London Heathrow. According to Airlines UK, over 330,000 passengers had their travel plans upended with...